Poisoned Thorns
by KiRa-NaRa
Summary: Erika's best friend went missing last year, and now she's come back... but something's different about her...
1. How Will I Tell Him?

**How Will I Tell Him?**

* * *

**Character Profiles:**

**Erika Toyota: Age/21, Hair/Black, thick, wavy, reaches her hips, bangs covering her right eye, Eyes/Green, Special/She has a kekkei genkai passed down through the leaders of Suna's Toyota Clan. It allows the one who possesses it to control all forms of psychic energy, including mind reading and kinesis.**

**Kurisuchie Takashi: Age/22, Hair/Purple, wavy, reaches her waist, usually held in two pigtails, bangs swept off both sides of her face, Eyes/Sky blue, Special: Nothing.**

**Inouye Nekoshiro: Age/22, Hair/Brown, wavy, reaches the tops of her thighs, bangs swept off to either side of her face, Eyes/Brown, Special/Has boobs almost as big as Tsunade's.**

**Ayame Toyota: Age/6, Hair/Red, shoulder length, held in a ponytail, bangs reaching her eyes, Eyes/Green, Special/Aya's inherited her mother's kekkei genkai. She and her twin sister were conceived when Erika got raped while on a mission when she was only 15 years old. Ayame, thinking of Shino as her father, has no wish to meet her real dad.**

**Roze Toyota: Age/6, Hair/Red, shoulder length, tied into a messy bun on the back of her head, bangs clipped back, Eyes/Green, Special: Roze got put up for adoption and as luck would have it, was adopted by Erika's cousin, Temari. So Roze gets to see her mom all the time. Roze, who doesn't see Shino enough to think of him as her father, desperately wants to meet her real dad.**

**Kaiga Takahashi: Age/21, Hair/Black, shoulder length, pin straight, Eyes/Silver, Special/She has the ability to see through wall if she concentrates her chakra enough, although she isn't nearly as good at this as the Hyuugas.**

* * *

Erika grumbled as she slowly stumbled out of the bathroom. For God's sake, this was the third time today! All week she had either been feeling like shit or actually getting sick, and now she was worried.

Erika tumbled onto her black leather couch and fished her purple cell phone out of her bag, quickly dialing her doctor's number. Within minutes she had an appointment set for later that day.

"I hope she gives me some good fucking meds…" Erika mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Damn migraines.

Someone chuckled from somewhere behind her and Erika felt someone put a cold hand on her forehead. "Still feeling sick?" they asked.

Erika craned her neck a little and glared at her boyfriend, Shino Aburame.

"What do you think?" she snapped.

Shino just shook his head and walked away. He knew better than to bother Erika when she was in a bad mood. Besides, he had training to do.

* * *

Later that evening Erika was in the doctor's office waiting for her test results. Erika, who had a tendency to freak out over things like this, was having a major spasm in her mind.

'Oh gods, what if I have cancer?! What if I'm gonna die?! No… calm down Erika… I'm sure it's just a bad case of the flu… nothing to worry about, right…?'

Erika looked up as her doctor walked back into the room. She looked like she didn't know whether to look happy or sad.

"Well, Erika, you aren't sick," she started slowly. "But… I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not but… you're two months pregnant."

Erika just sat there staring at her blankly. She was pregnant? Of course, how could she have been so stupid? She'd been pregnant before, she should have recognized the symptoms. Well, Shino was a moron for not realizing it, too.

"Um… okay… thanks…"

Erika's mind went crazy as she slowly shuffled home. This wasn't so bad. She was 21 – almost 22 – she was definitely old enough to have a baby. But she and Shino weren't even engaged, let alone married. What would he think of this?

"Hi Erika-chaaaaaaaaaaan!"

Erika nearly fell over when she was glomped by her best friend and teammate, Kurisuchie Takashi, who also happened to be dating Kakashi Hatake.

"Hey Curry…" Erika muttered. This really was NOT the time!

Curry let go of her and stared at her for a second before snapping her fingers and pointing at her accusingly.

"Uh...?" Erika just stared at her.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?"

Erika grinned sheepishly. "You know me too well."

"Damn straight!" Curry rubbed the back of her neck and cocked her head to the side. "Is it Shino's this time?"

"Of course it is! This isn't gonna be like last time!" Erika yelled, scowling. How she wished people would stop bugging her about her two daughters, Ayame and Roze. It really was quite annoying.

"Well," Curry said, "You'd better hope Shino takes this well, 'cause I don't think Kiba really likes you anymore. He and Inyay are gettin' pretty serious, yeah?"

"I know…"

"Well I have a date with Kakashi, so call me tomorrow okay? I'll see ya later, dude." Curry hugged her best friend and sped off.

Erika sighed and stared at the ground. What if Shino didn't take this well? Sure she had plenty of money, but she didn't think she could care for three children on her own. So this left her with a confusing question…

"How will I tell him?"


	2. Nine Months to Go

**9 Months to Go**

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**New Character!:**

**Inato Aburame: Age/17, Hair/Brown, thick, straight, reaches the middle of her back, Eyes/Brown, always covered by her dark purple shades, Special/Inato's body is inhabited by the kikaichu, like all members of her clan.**

* * *

Erika stood frozen like a statue outside the front door. She was so nervous! What if he didn't want it? Of course, she knew Shino would never leave her over something like this, but STILL, it was really nerve wracking!

Taking a deep breath, Erika slowly opened the door and walked inside. Shino was nowhere to be seen. He must still be out training. Sighing, Erika sat on the couch and rubbed her tummy absent mindedly, thinking of what it would be like to have another kid. Would it be a girl or a boy? Which of its parents would it look like? What kind of personality would it grow up to have?

Erika nearly had a heart attack when she heard the door open. Shino walked in to find Erika with her hand over her heart looking as though she'd seen a ghost.

"Don't scare me like that! Fuck! You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack!" Erika screamed.

"Sorry," Shino said, kissing her. "So what did the doctor say?"

"Uhhhh…" Damn. Erika had spent so much time thinking of what the baby would be like, she hadn't bothered to think about how she was going to tell him! Eh, what the hell, might as well just come out and say it, right?

"Well, um, she told me…"

Just then there was a loud knock on the door. Whew. Saved by the bell!

Erika jumped up and ran to the door, opening it to see Shino's younger sister, Inato.

Inato nodded to her. "Hello, Erika-chan. Is my brother home?"

Shino walked over to the door. "Inato. What is it?"

"The Hokage needs to see you. She said she had a new mission for you."

Shino nodded. "I'll go there in a minute." And with that he just closed the door. No good byes or anything. But then, he and Inato had never really gotten along.

"So… what were you about to tell me?" Shino asked, turning back to Erika.

Erika looked at the ground and started rubbing her palm, a habit she used whenever she was really nervous or stressed.

"Um… I'm…" Erika found herself unable to finish and just pointed at her tummy.

When she didn't hear anything, Erika looked up. Was Shino mad…?

He was just standing there staring at her. Sometimes she wished he would show a little more emotion. It was so hard trying to find out what he thought!

"Are you, um, mad…?" Erika asked timidly.

After a minute, Shino shook his head slowly. "No… just… surprised."

Erika nodded. "So I guess you're finally gonna be a dad."

"Mm-hmm."

Later that night, Erika called up Curry to tell her.

"So he's ok with it? Awsome!"

"Yeah. I get so nervous over these things, and it always ends up being completely cool. But NOW I remember that the hardest part is yet to come."

Curry grinned, forgetting her friend couldn't see her.

"Nine months to go!"


End file.
